UN-Oceans: Raising awareness of relevant regulatory and policy frameworks and its members activities in support of their implementation, as a foundation for conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and their resources

UN-Oceans is an inter-agency mechanism that seeks to enhance the coordination, coherence and effectiveness of competent organizations of the United Nations system and the International Seabed Authority, in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the respective competences of each of its participating organizations and the mandates and priorities approved by their respective governing bodies.

UN-Oceans' mandate is as follows:
Strengthen and promote coordination and coherence of United Nations system activities related to ocean and coastal areas;
Regularly share ongoing and planned activities of participating organizations within the framework of relevant United Nations and other mandates with a view to identifying possible areas for collaboration and synergy;
Facilitate, as appropriate, inputs by its participating organizations to the annual reports of the Secretary-General on oceans and the law of the sea and on sustainable fisheries to be submitted to the Secretariat; and
Facilitate inter-agency information exchange, including sharing of experiences, best practices, tools and methodologies and lessons learned in ocean-related matters.

The members of UN-Oceans will provide information on ocean-related international regulatory and policy frameworks to the widest number of stakeholders also to ensure that they are aware of the legal instruments and policy outcomes which are relevant to SDG 14 and other ocean-related goals and targets of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They will also inform about the available opportunities to increase the capacity to implement relevant instruments and commitments more effectively and fully.

The main objective of this commitment is to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as underpinning the implementation of SDG 14, and outlined in target 14.C. This will directly contribute to the realization of each of the targets under SDG 14, across multiple sectors. By providing States and other stakeholders with comprehensive information regarding relevant international regulatory and policy frameworks and on UN-Oceans members activities in support of implementation, we will work to increase their capacity to fully implement SDG 14 and other ocean-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda.

UN-Oceans has a vital role to play in enhancing cooperation and coordination among the activities of the UN system in supporting States to build capacity and exchange knowledge regarding the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources. At the same time, each UN-Oceans member has its own respective sectoral processes and fora with relevant stakeholders. We believe that we can more effectively use such processes and fora to benefit one anothers sectors and increase links across the implementation of the various SDG 14 targets and also across multiple SDGs.

Specifically, at major intergovernmental meetings, we commit to come together to provide briefings to inform participants of current ocean-related regulatory and policy frameworks as well as relevant activities. This could, for instance, take the form of workshops or dialogues in the margins of international meetings or conferences of parties or at relevant regional events.

Progress reports

December 2020

By the end of 2020, starting in the second half of 2017, UN-Oceans members, will have prepared and delivered coordinated briefings at major intergovernmental ocean-related meetings, where multiple UN-Oceans members are likely to be in attendance.

1 Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED)
2 Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
3 Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs (DOALOS/OLA)
4 Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
5 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
6 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC/UNESCO)
7 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
8 International Labour Organization (ILO)
9 International Maritime Organization (IMO)
10 International Seabed Authority (ISA)
11 Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA)
12 Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS)
13 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
14 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
15 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
16 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
17 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
18 United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment/UNEP)
19 United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
20 United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
21 United Nations University (UNU)
22 World Bank (WB)
23 World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
24 World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)